Aarhus end Wilshere's ordeal: It's hard to tell your son that nobody wants you

The wait is over and Jack Wilshere finally has a new club, having penned a deal to join Danish outfit Aarhus.

Wilshere had been without a club since leaving Bournemouth at the end of the 2020/21 season and had been training with former side Arsenal, with there even being rumours that he would sign a short-term deal with the Gunners. But, he has instead opted to go abroad and join Aarhus.

"I am at a point in my career where I need to get started again after a difficult period," Wilshere said, as reported by The Guardian.

"I am very grateful for the opportunity AGF has offered me and I will do everything I can to help the team move forward. I am very much looking forward to contributing to the team."

The club are also excited to have the Englishman on board and are looking forward to seeing him in action.

"He [Wilshere] is in good physical shape, but of course lacks some match fitness," said sporting director Stig Inge Bjornebye.

"It will probably come, and we look forward to seeing him in the white jersey."

Wilshere's ordeal

Speaking late in 2021, Wilshere explained to The Athletic that he had been having a hard time, particularly trying to talk about his situation with his children.

"My kids are at an age where they understand," Wilshere told The Athletic.

"Especially Archie, who's nine. He's actually having conversations with me, saying 'What about the MLS?' or 'Why aren't you playing in La Liga?'

"He loves football. He knows everything about football. And it is difficult to explain to him. He'll say to me 'How come no club wants you?' I don't know. But how do I explain that to him?

"They've got friends at school and you know what kids can be like, they can be quite brutal. 'Why is your dad not working? Is he not good enough? Is he not good at football?' Yeah, that's tough."

Wilshere was willing to move abroad

In that same interview, Wilshere expressed his openness to playing away from England's shores.

"I've said before that I'm open to going abroad," added Wilshere.

"In fact, I probably want to go abroad. I want to try something different.

"Have a fresh start somewhere where people, clubs, fans don't think 'Oh, that's Jack Wilshere, he's going to get injured today' or 'He'll play five games and that's it... waste of an investment'.

"I feel a little bit like the door in this country has been shut on me. I don't know why. Maybe it's because of the injury history and people getting references from places. I feel like that's unfair.

"The last time I had an injury was in January 2020. Everyone thinks 'Oh, his ankle, his ankle'. It wasn't my ankle. I had a hernia, which is a standard injury. It was a 10-day turnaround and then unfortunately lockdown came. But I built myself up and had a really good base of fitness."